chain mail | a flexible medieval armor made of interlinked metal rings
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chalice | a goblet; in Christian liturgy, the Eucharistic cup
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chanson de geste (French, "song of heroic deeds") | an epic poem of the Early Middle Ages
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chivalry | a code of behavior practiced by upper-class men and women of medieval society
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cloisonné (French, cloison, meaning "fence") | an enameling technique produced by pouring molten colored glass between thin metal strips secured to a metal surface; any object ornamented in this manner (see Figure 11.2)
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common law | the body of unwritten law developed primarily from judicial decisions based on custom and precedent; the basis of the English legal system and that of all states in the United States with the exception of Louisiana
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crenellations | tooth-shaped battlements surmounting a wall and used for defensive combat
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cruciform | cross-shaped
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fealty | loyalty; the fidelity of the warrior to his chieftain
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feudalism | the system of political organization prevailing in Europe between the ninth and fifteenth centuries and having as its basis the exchange of land for military defense
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fief | in feudal society, land or property given to a warrior in return for military service
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guild | an association of merchants or craftspeople organized according to occupation
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investiture | the procedure by which a feudal lord granted a vassal control over a fief
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jongleur | a professional entertainer who wandered from court to court in medieval Europe
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joust | a form of personal combat, usually with lances on horseback, between men-at-arms
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keep | a square tower, the strongest and most secure part of the medieval castle (see Figure 11.14)
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kenning | a two-term metaphor used in Old English verse
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lord | any member of the feudal nobility who invested a vassal with a fief
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mace | a heavy, spike-headed club used as a weapon in medieval combat
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medieval romance | a tale of adventure that deals with knights, kings, and ladies acting under the impulse of love, religious faith, or the desire for adventure
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moat | a wide trench, usually filled with water, surrounding a fortified place such as a castle (see Figure 11.14)
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niello | a black sulfurous substance used as a decorative inlay for incised metal surfaces; the art or process of decorating metal in this manner
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paten | a shallow dish; in Christian liturgy, the Eucharistic plate
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primogeniture | the principle by which a fief was passed from father to eldest son
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renaissance (French, "rebirth") | a revival of the learning of former and especially classical culture
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serf | an unfree peasant
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vassal | any member of the feudal nobility who vowed to serve a lord in exchange for control of a fief
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zoomorphic | animal-shaped; having the form of an animal
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